1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ice cream making apparatus, more particularly to an ice cream making apparatus having a discharging mechanism for discharging ice cream.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional ice cream making apparatus. The apparatus includes a stand 11 with an outer container 111 mounted thereon. An inner container 12 is received inside and is supported by the outer container 111. An agitator 15 is disposed inside the inner container 12, and is connected to a driving unit 14. The inner container 12 has a threaded bottom outlet 121 with a hollow first joint 122 mounted thereon. An extruding screw portion 151 extends downwardly from the agitator 15 into the first joint 122 for extruding ice cream out of the inner container 12. A gate member 16 is mounted slidably on a hollow second joint 163 which is coupled with the first joint 122. The hollow second joint 163 has an opening 161 for passage of ice cream. The gate member 16 is formed as an elongated plate having a pair of slide guides 162 mounted slidably on a pair of rails provided on the second joint 163, an aperture 164 disposed between the guides 162, a planar part 165 adjacent to and aligned with the aperture 164 along the plate, and a handling part 166 for moving the gate member 16 between an opened position in which the aperture 164 is aligned with the opening 161 of the second joint 163 so as to permit ice cream to exit through the aperture 164, and a closed position in which the planar part 165 covers the opening 161 of the second joint 163 so as to prevent ice cream from exiting through the aperture 164.
Since the gate member 16 abuts tightly against the second joint 163 for preventing ice cream from leaking, a relative large friction force has to be overcome in order to move the gate member 16 between the opened and closed positions. With the handling part 166 being formed as a part of the gate member 16, such friction force can increase the difficulty in manipulating the movement of the gate member 16. Moreover, since the gate member 16 is only supported on one end by the second joint 163, a straight movement of the gate member 16 between the opened and closed positions can not be guaranteed. As a result, the moving of the gate member 16 between the opened and closed positions can become troublesome.